A/N: I wrote this for the Upon Open Wings writes group. We're a small group still, endeavoring to embrace all types of fandom, and parings…especially ones that are less popular, and left by the wayside…go ahead and look us up in the forums if you want to join…our arms are open and waiting.
The prompt I used: Write a pairing using these 8 words. Esoteric, Woo, Detestable, Liberated, Masterful, Expressive, Upstart, and Clout.
The Promise I Made
"Oh, Lulu, he's getting so big now, and he looks so much like his dad." Yuna said as she rested on the sandy beach, enjoying the heat of the day. "It's crazy how alike they look, actually."
Lulu nodded, her boy was no longer a babe…he old enough to learn to play ball with the other boys. Wakka, the proud father that he was, took to coaching the junior league that his son played in. The idea itself must have been something in the bloodline. "Yes well, children can't stay little forever, I suppose. I do miss him being around the hip, it was nice to have the company."
"Have you considered having another?" Yuna asked, but Lulu just shook her head.
"Even I can tell when I'm pressing my limits." Lulu murmured a little sadly at that. "Battle makes a woman age quickly I fear, and if there is one thing in my life I have done, it's face battle. One child was hard enough to bear, I doubt I could survive another."
"It's because of me, isn't it?" Yuna asked, suddenly feeling guilty.
"It is because I'm a woman." Lulu laughed softly. "Yuna, you are foolish to think that my growing older is your fault. The only thing to blame is time, and for what it is it worth, I would have never thought myself able to be a mother had it not been for you."
"…you mean, because of Chappu." Yuna smiled at the distant memories of him, thinking only of him fondly. "I still found it amusing that he even liked me at all. He wasn't exactly fond of the other children."
"He was a warrior, Yuna." Lulu said with a shake of her head. "If anything, he cared too much about youth. Too much about protecting others, he believed firmly that a child should be innocent. He wanted that for all of the young ones. So many were raised to be fighters, taught to know war before their time….Chappu hated that." She licked her lips at the distant memory. "It pained him so, and that's why I think he valued Blitzball. It was something an adult could find joy in, and something a child could see as magic."
"I do miss him." Yuna said then quietly, an edge to her voice. "His antics were what kept me smiling when nothing else could."
"My son is willful, but I see that same awkward arrogance in him." It made Lulu smile wise. "He makes all of these crazy declarations, and he stands by them…yet, if it were not for you, I would have such a things as mere foolishness."
"What do you mean?" Yuna asked then, surprised by that far off gaze.
"Do you not recall the promise I made to you?" Lulu asked her then, turning to face her. "I thought you foolish as a child...but, it was your foolishness that demanded victory."
"It's kind of hard to forget…" Yuna admitted with a smile. "I was only seven back then…"
"And I was hardly even a woman, considering to go on my first pilgrimage." Lulu agreed, the thought of her younger days brought equal measures of joy and pain. "Back then, I thought I truly understood the way of it...but that was a lesson given to me later."
"You didn't go on your first pilgrimage until I was ten." Yuna said with a shake of her head. "I remember that because you were going to miss my birthday."
"I said, I was merely considering to go on one." Lulu laughed. "It took those three years after to be sure…However, it was ultimately that promise, that made me want to go and see Spira for myself."
…
It might have seemed strange for some, that a black mage such as Lulu decided to turn her sights onto a little girl, to make a vow to keep an eye on her until she was an adult. Lulu was an orphan herself, after all...older than some of the other children, perhaps, but still just a youth. Hardly a woman with an irregular cycle and still developing breasts...sure, she could live on her own, and many considered her an adult, but that was before of her power.
She was astoundingly skilled for her age, and it gave her a deep well of respect to draw from.
Black mages were thought to be detestable, and often they were solitary by choice. They had a name for themselves that carried murmurs far and wide. They could lose their mind to their dark arts, and while many used black magic to serve the greatest good, others called upon the elements to bring havoc to those around them.
It took unimaginable clout to summon such power…be it spells or aeons, it mattered not.
She was not an evil black mage, even if her strictness made her seem cold. Lulu often kept to herself, though on the island she was known for her wisdom and grace. Even if she was respected among the community, many questioned her ability to protect the summoner's daughter. She never let it bother her, though at the time she wondered if the murmurs of the other islanders rang true.
She was no village elder. She knew very little about how to guide those of lesser experience...and here, there was no need. Besaid was a relatively peaceful land in a world plagued by several kinds of hell, so her powers were often left to be forgotten.
The summoner's child was an expressive and forthright girl. Full of hope, and yet she was strangely shy and gentle. Yuna, or Yunie as the children called her, would be destined for great things one day in the not so distant future. Lulu knew this, because she could see the magical light that lingered within the young girl's heart.
Black painted lips curved into a smile as she watched the little girl draw lines in the sand. One day, she was sure that those bright eyes would draw far greater pictures in the eyes of those who looked upon her.
Luckily for the two of them, today would not be that day.
Even so, the future was the girl's goal. "Lulu, I want to be a summoner, you know?" The little girl said quietly, fully understanding the esoteric nature of what a pilgrimage meant. "That means one day, I won't be able to do things like this anymore…and that one day…someone else, like me, won't be able to either."
Lulu nodded. "That's the plight of those who choose to become a summoner." She looked down at the drawing of what looked to be a bunch of people beside her. "It is a very grand task, and only the most masterful summoner can rise above the challenge."
"I…I want you to go with me…" Yuna said quietly, her bright eyes lifting to meet Lulu. "You will, won't you?"
"Always…" The vow hurt to say, but Lulu forced herself to continue to smile anyway. "However, you must promise me one thing."
"What's that?" She might have been young, but she wasn't blind. She could see the wetness in Lulu's eyes.
"Promise me, that no matter what, that you will always find joy in your adventures." Lulu told her. "A summoner must travel far and wide, see things that are very difficult to comprehend, and ease the suffering of those that have lost their way."
"I know that I can do it." Yuna nodded, always the young upstart who believed in such a thing to a fault. "I will be a summoner even greater than my father…just as I'm sure he would want. I will be very strong, and able to summon many to help me. I will do him proud, so that his spirit can be eased."
Did Lord Braska wish for her to walk such a morbid path? Or, would he have preferred her to woo a lover so that she could start a family of her own? Distantly, Lulu prayed any father would hope the latter, but, she could not deny the path of the former. Living as a summoner was fulfilling in its own ways…painful too, of course, but that was part of the price.
Finally, Lulu came to a choice. "Yes, there is no doubt of your conviction. You speak so strongly of it." Lulu remained unsure, but, unwavering in stance. "If that is the case, I'm sure that you can be a very wise and powerful summoner." In fact, it was such a thing that made Lulu want to cry. "Perhaps, you will defeat Sin." Her desire to weep for this girl was so strong, she wondered if one day her mask would truly break…but if it did, it would be only after the final summoning. When Sin would be put down once more.
"There is…something else…" Yuna said as she stabbed the stick one final time into the sand. "I will defeat Sin. I promise." She swore with all of her heart. "I will bring another calm to Spira…but after that…when Sin comes again, you must promise me that you will fight again. That you will protect another summoner on their journey."
"You think too much, Yuna." Lulu said, kneeling down to pull the girl into a hug. "The vastness of this world can do just fine without you dreaming up such thoughts for now."
"Promise me…Lulu." If there was ever a twinge of fear to be found in the girl, it was in that one moment.
"Yuna, look at me." Lulu said with her usual soft, stern voice. "If you were to become Sin, I would become a summoner in your steed. I would see you liberated from those shackles myself." Lulu promised without a trace of anything besides truth in her words. "I would never let you suffer needlessly in that form, and I would endeavor to carry the burden instead."
…
It was all just a distant memory now…one, that thankfully never had to see fruition.
"I am glad, Yuna, that I made such a promise to you. It allowed me to put my demons to rest." Lulu said as she took Yuna's hand in her own. "However, it is time that you consider your own womanhood now…that you find yourself some true happiness in this world. It is my fondest wish for you."
"I will, sooner or later." Yuna said quietly, seeming uncertain.
"Promise me, you will become happy." Lulu said quietly. "Promise me that you will hold true to your own oath, the selfsame one you forced every single one of your guardians to make. That you will find unquestionable light in your life, no matter what."
"Alright then…" Yuna nodded resolutely. "One day, I will become happier than ever before. I will raise a family, and settle down here in Besaid. Then, when I do bear a child, you may stand alongside me, and watch that child grow."
Lulu nodded, before returning her eyes back onto her son, won practiced his drills with expert ease, even though the sun was beginning to kiss the water's edge. "Chappu!" She called to him. "It's time to return home, I'm sure your father wishes to eat."
A tutor once told her, everything a mage did in life would one day come full circle...and even though at the time, she hadn't believe it, Lulu could still look up at the sun and the moon, and see the life she'd lived...the people she loved and lost, and vows that she refused to let be broken...but, she was still a mortal woman...still unable to fully crush the thing known as Sin underfoot.
She wondered who was watching her from the farplane now, and who she would watch over one day when it was for her to be sent to the world beyond the stars.
"I will hold you to that promise, Yuna." Lulu said as the three of them set off back to the village, glancing down at her son who skipped along, as if without a care in the world. "Just as I have held fast to mine."
"Well, you are still a guardian after all." Yuna laughed. "You always have been, Lulu."
"Yes." She nodded then, serenity in her voice. "Indeed, I have."
_End_
I don't know what came over me when I began to write this…all I know is that I'm just starting to play FFX again, and this idea sort of snuck up on me…so there it is...